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The Dark Knight
:"Let's put a smile on that face." ::—The Joker The Dark Knight was Christopher Nolan's sixth feature film, released in 2008, and his second in the Batman franchise. It served as a sequel to Batman Begins, continuing the story of Bruce Wayne fighting crime in Gotham City. Nolan worked with both David S. Goyer and his brother to write the film, and it was produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Nolan himself. Summary With the police lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and newly-elected district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) raises the stakes on his war on crime in Gotham City by setting out to dismantle the remaining organized crime syndicates that plague the streets. The partnership proves effective, but when it falls prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a homicidal humorist psychopath known as the Joker (Heath Ledger) that starts plunging the city into anarchy, Batman must decide whether or not to cross the line between heroism and vigilantism. Structure The Dark Knight is told in a very linear fashion, with minimal chronological jumping. Plot A gang of criminals rob a Gotham City mob bank, double-crossing and murdering each other until there is only one left: The Joker, who escapes with the money. Batman, District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Jim Gordon form an alliance to rid Gotham of organized crime. Bruce Wayne is impressed with Dent's idealism and offers to support his career; he believes that, with Dent as Gotham's protector, he can give up being Batman and lead a normal life with Rachel Dawes—even though she and Dent are dating. Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol and the Chechen hold a videoconference with corrupt accountant Lau, who has taken their funds and fled to Hong Kong. The Joker interrupts, warns them that Batman is unhindered by the law, and offers to kill him in exchange for half of their money, but Gambol puts a bounty on the Joker instead after he insults him. After escaping and smuggling himself as a corpse, the Joker kills Gambol and takes over his gang. The mob ultimately decides to take the Joker up on his offer. Dent arrests the entire mob, while Batman finds Lau in Hong Kong and brings him back to Gotham to testify against them. The Joker threatens to keep killing people unless Batman reveals his identity, and starts by murdering Police Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb and the judge presiding over the mob trial. The Joker also tries to kill Mayor Anthony Garcia, but Gordon sacrifices himself to stop the assassination. Dent learns that Rachel is the next target. Bruce decides to reveal his secret identity. Before he can, however, Dent announces that he is Batman. Dent is taken into protective custody, but the Joker appears and attacks the convoy. Batman comes to Dent's rescue and Gordon, who faked his death, arrests the Joker and is promoted to Commissioner. Rachel and Dent are escorted away by Michael Wuertz and Anna Ramirez, detectives on Maroni's payroll. Batman interrogates the Joker, who reveals that Rachel and Dent have been trapped in separate locations rigged with explosives. Batman races to save Rachel, while Gordon goes to save Dent. Batman arrives at the building, realizing that the Joker sent him to Dent's location instead. Both buildings explode, killing Rachel and disfiguring half of Dent's face. The Joker escapes the jail with Lau. Coleman Reese, an accountant at Wayne Enterprises, deduces that Bruce is Batman and tries to go public with the information. After observing the unpredictability of the Joker, Maroni informs the Joker's location to Commissioner Gordon. The Joker sets fire to the mob's money, burning Lau alive in the process, and kills the Chechen. Not wanting Reese's revelation to interfere with his plans, the Joker threatens to destroy a hospital unless someone kills Reese. Gordon orders the evacuation of all the hospitals in Gotham and goes to secure Reese. The Joker finds Dent in Gotham General and manipulates him into seeking revenge for Rachel's death. The Joker then destroys the hospital and escapes with a busload of hostages. Dent goes on a killing spree based on a coin flip and targets people he holds responsible for Rachel's death, including Wuertz (who is killed) and Ramirez (who is spared). While in Maroni's car, Dent shoots his driver, presumably killing Maroni as well. After announcing Gotham will be subject to his rule come nightfall, The Joker rigs two evacuating ferries with explosives; one containing civilians and the other containing prisoners. He says that he will blow them both up by midnight, but will let one live if the passengers of either boat blows up the other. Batman finds the Joker with a sonar device that spies on the entire city, with the reluctant help of Lucius Fox. Both the civilians and the prisoners refuse to kill each other, and Batman apprehends the Joker after a fight. Before the police arrive to take the Joker into custody, he gloats that Gotham's citizens will lose hope once Dent's rampage becomes public knowledge. Gordon arrives at the building where Rachel died, where Dent judges his fate, along with his own and Batman's, by flipping a coin. He spares himself, shoots Batman, and tries to kill Gordon's son. Before he can, Batman, who was wearing body armor, tackles Dent off the building to his death. Batman persuades Gordon to preserve Dent's heroic image by holding Batman responsible for the killing spree. As the police launch a manhunt for Batman, Gordon destroys the Bat-signal, Fox watches as the sonar device self-destructs, and Alfred Pennyworth burns a letter from Rachel about her choice to marry Dent. Cast * Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne * Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth * Heath Ledger as the Joker * Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon * Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face * Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes * Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox * Monique Gabriela Curnen as Detective Anna Ramirez * Ron Dean as Detective Michael Wuertz * Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia * Chin Han as Mr. Lau * Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni * Ritchie Coster as the Chechen * Anthony Michael Hall as Mike Engel * Keith Szarabajka as Detective Gerard Stephens * Joshua Harto as Coleman Reese * Melinda McGraw as Barbara Gordon * Nathan Gamble as James Gordon Jr. * Michael Jai White as Gambol * Beatrice Rosen as Natascha Patrenko * Colin McFarlane as Commissioner Gillian Loeb * Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow * Michael Vieau as Wilmer Rossi * Michael Stoyanov as Dopey * William Smillie as Happy * Danny Goldring as Grumpy * Matthew O'Neill as Chuckles * William Fichtner as Gotham National Bank Manager * Olumiji Olawumi as Drug Dealer * Greg Beam as Drug Buyer * Erik Hellman as Junkie * Vincenzo Nicoli as Crime Boss * Edison Chen as LSI VP * Nydia Rodriguez Terracina as Judge Janet Surrillo * Andy Luther as Brian Douglas * James Farruggio as Corrupt Detective #1 * Tom McElroy as Corrupt Detective #2 * Will Zahrn as Assistant DA * James Fierro as Joker Thug #1 * Patrick Leahy as Gentleman at Party * Sam Derence as Male Guest * Jennifer Knox as Female Guest * Patrick Clear as Judge Freel * Sarah Jayne Dunn as Maroni's Mistress * Chucky Venn as Gambol's Bodyguard * Winston Ellis as Gambol's Bodyguard * David Dastmalchian as Thomas Schiff * Sophia Hinshelwood as Reporter #1 * Keith Kupferer as Heckler * Joseph Luis Caballero as Cop Heckler * Richard Dillane as Acting Commissioner * Daryl Satcher as Officer at Intersection * Chris Petschler as Convoy Leader * Aidan Feore as Kilson * Philip Bulcock as Detective Murphy * Paul Birchard as Cop with Kilson * Walter Lewis as Medic * Vincent Riotta as Cop at 250 52nd St. * Nancy Crane as Matilda * K. Todd Freeman as Jeremy Polk * Matt Shallenberger as Berg * Michael Andrew Gorman as Cop at Hospital * Lanny Lutz as Louis Wuertz (as "Bartender") * Peter DeFaria as Civilian * Matt Rippy as First Mate * Andrew Bicknell as Prison Ferry Pilot * Ariyon Bakare as Grace (as "Guard Commander") * Doug Ballard as Businessman * Helene Wilson as Mother * Tommy Campbell as Passenger #1 * Craig Heaney as Passenger #2 * Lorna Gayle as Passenger #3 * Lisa McAllister as Passenger #4 * Peter Brooke as Passenger #5 * Joshua Rollins as SWAT Sniper * Dale Rivera as SWAT Leader * Matthew Leitch as Prisoner on Ferry * Tommy Tiny Lister as Tattooed Prisoner * Thomas Gaitsch as Reporter #3 * William Armstrong as Evans * Adam Kalesperis as Honor Guard Man * Tristan Tait as Uniform Cop * Bronson Webb as Bounty Hunter * David Ajala as Bounty Hunter * Gertrude Kyles as Fox's Secretary * Jonathan Ryland as Passenger Ferry Pilot * James Scales as Taylor (as "Guardsman") * Nigel Carrington as Warden * Ian Pirie as Corrections Officer * Lateef Lovejoy as Prisoner #1 * Grahame Edwards as Prisoner #2 * Roger Monk as Prisoner #3 * Ronan Summers as Prisoner #4 * Wai Wong as Hong Kong Detective * Michael Corey Foster as Honor Guard Leader * Hannah Gunn as Gordon's Daughter * Brandon Lambdin as Armored Car SWAT Uncredited * Stephen Armourae as Ferry Prisoner * Wayne Baker as Loading Dock Worker * Tommy Bartlett as Maroni's DA * Matt Cho as Lau Thug #2 * Henry Milton Chu as Lau Thug #3 * Richard Divizio as Chechen Thug #1 * Tony Domino as Press Comference Man * Ed Fernandez as Joker Thug #3 * Andy Godbold as Joker Thug #4 * Bill Ibrahim as Maroni Thug #1 * Charles Jarman as Gambol Thug #1 * Nicky Katt as SWAT Driver * Luke Kearney as SWAT Officer * Don Kress as Maroni Thug #2 * Tim Krueger as Administrative Assistant DA * Nick McKinless as Joker Thug #6 * Almas Meirmanov as Joker Thug #5 * Andy Pilgrim as SWAT Team Member * Buster Reeves as Joker Thug #2 * Greg Schweiner as Executive Assistant DA * Matt Skiba as Anti-Coleman Reese Civilian * Albert Tang as Ferry Passenger * Jim Templar as Joker Thug #7 * Chuen Tsou as Lau Thug #1 * John Turk as Chechen's Bodyguard * Jim Wilkey as Joker's Truck Driver * Essa Zahir as Ferry Prisoner Stunts * Paul Jennings * Rick LeFevour * Tom Struthers * Sy Hollands * Wade Allen * Rick Avery * Dean Bailey * Frank Calzavara * Mark Chadwick * Brian Christensen * George Cottle * Tobiasz Daskiewicz * Marie Fink * Jean-Pierre Goy * Mark Harper * Adam Hart * Terry Jackson * Luke Kearney * Matt LeFevour * Tom Lowell * Tony Lucken * Daniel Maldonado * Jon Maldonado * James Mammoser * Tom McComas * Tim McHenry * Natalie M. Meyer * Rick Miller * Mark Mottram * Chris Nolte * Carl Paoli * Linda Perlin * Brian Peters * Scott Philyaw * Buster Reeves * Ken Remer * Richard Ryan * Jeff Shannon * David Shumbris * Kevin Sorensen * Jodi Starnes * Todd Rogers Terry * Rich Wilkie Crew Reception The Dark Knight was universally acclaimed, reveiving a 94% from Rotten Tomatoes. Category:Films